Poll: Which woman should grace Britain’s £10 banknote?

When outgoing Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mervyn King announced in April that Winston Churchill would appear on Britain's £5 bank note, he faced the wrath of a movement usually uninterested in his fiscal dealings: feminists.

King had chosen to replace 19th-century prison reformer Elizabeth Fry with a relic of British imperialism and masculinity from the 1940s. But he was quick to defend the decision, informing politicians in June that Jane Austen was "quietly waiting in the wings" and may replace Charles Darwin as the face of the £10 note.

With new governor Mark Carney set to discuss who should grace this note with BoE directors today, CNBC has compiled a list of notable female candidates who may just be worthy of monetary status.

If Jane Austen – or any of these contenders – wins the right to appear on the note, she would be only the third woman to feature on a British banknote (with the exception of the Queen), following Fry, who was on the £5 note from 2001, and Florence Nightingale, who was pictured on £10 banknotes from 1975 until 1994.